If you have tons of important things to do but you’re chilling on Netflix, scrolling through social media, or just wasting your time then dude, you’ve become a victim of procrastination.

Most of us, especially our younger generation procrastinate a lot, probably because of the pandemic and cheap internet. But no matter what, we can’t blame the situation only we need to know the procrastination meaning and how to avoid procrastination. In this write-up, we also share some related procrastination quotes.

So the question is we know that we have to work a lot, yet we are wasting time, but why? We also know what the consequences will be if we don’t complete our work, yet why don’t we focus on the work?

Let’s break down What is procrastination? What are the types of procrastination? How to avoid procrastination?

“YOU CANNOT ESCAPE RESPONSIBILITIES OF TOMORROW BY AVOIDING IT TODAY.”

– Abraham Lincoln

What Is The Procrastination?

“The process of delaying or postponing any important work is known as Procrastination.” This definition simply explains Procrastination meaning.

To be honest, none of us enjoy procrastination, but we don’t know how to avoid procrastination. One of the biggest consequences of procrastination is that we keep postponing our work and in the end, our workload becomes 10 times more than now. And it builds up stress and anxiety.

For most of us who are suffering from mental health issues, the reason behind this could be procrastination but don’t worry, today I am sharing some tips on how to avoid procrastination.

The Reason Behind Procrastination

Before I share some tips on how to prevent procrastination, let me share the main reason behind procrastination. Why do we stop working on our important work and start wasting time?

There can be many reasons behind this but one of them is the Fear Of Failure. Sometimes we fear failing in some work, so our mind tries to avoid doing that work and we think that tomorrow we will work on it and it happens again and again.

OR we have a lot of work to do, this workload gives us stress and anxiety. Therefore, our mind tries to avoid all those things which give us stress or anxiety. So we stop our work and start wasting time on things that are not so important (like scrolling on Instagram, or watching movies) without thinking about our important tasks.

Now, let’s discuss the types of procrastination.

Types Of Procrastination

There are different types of procrastination, but here we will discuss the top 2 main types. Later, I will give the ideal solution to avoid procrastination.

• Productive Procrastination
• Passive Procrastination

Productive Procrastination

What is productive procrastination? This is the worst kind of procrastination because here we know that we have to finish the important work by tomorrow but instead of finishing that work, we complete some non-important work like going out with the pet, cleaning the room, etc.

In this situation, at the end of the day, we feel that we have done a lot of work, but the reality is that we have not even touched our main important work. This type does not leave any guilt in our minds because we think that we have done a lot today, so we call it the worst kind of procrastination. We will also discuss the solution after the next point that how to avoid procrastination of this type.

Passive Procrastination

In passive procrastination we make a list of work, we make a timetable, and we also set a goal but we do not complete the work because we set some unrealistic goals which are difficult to achieve in less time.

For example, you set a target of getting 50 clients next month, but you are not ready for it. Reality is far from your goal. So you planned for it, but you didn’t work for it and kept extending the deadline.

How To Avoid Procrastination

Let’s break down the ideal solution to avoid procrastination. Creating to-do lists and not-to-do lists are the most common ways to avoid procrastination. But it may or may not work for you.

So here I will share the best 3 ways to avoid procrastination completely, but before reading the solution you need to know why you procrastinate? Is it the fear of failure or is there any workload on you that leads you to procrastinate or any other reason? just recognize it.

Because unless we know the reason behind the problem the best solution cannot be found. Once you have identified the problem, apply these tips to avoid procrastination.

Make it habit

There is a routine in our daily life. For example, brushing, bathing, and many other things can happen in your daily routine which you cannot avoid even by mistake. When we incorporate our habits into our daily routine, it becomes almost impossible to avoid them.

So include the work you want to do in your daily routine and decide on an event, that after this event you will complete your work. For example, if you want to work out daily, just incorporate it into your routine, as you may decide to complete your workout after bathing. You will not be able to avoid it by making it your habit.

Set The Bar Low

Many times we procrastinate because we set some very big goals for ourselves which are unrealistic and impossible to achieve before the deadline. By not completing the tasks in the given time, we go towards demotivation. So you should set small goals and work towards them, achieve them and then scale them.

You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

– Martin Luther

For example, if you want to start exercising, don’t set a goal of 20 minutes from day one, just start with 5 minutes a day, and when you make it your daily habit, increase it to 20 minutes a day.

In simple words, if you divide your work into small tasks, then after completing the work, you will feel like a winner. And this is how you can avoid procrastination.

Give Yourself Deadlines

Remember your school/college days, when we knew we had a lot of time for exams, we didn’t study seriously. We used to start studying seriously 1 or 2 weeks before the exam.

Time limits are very important. Our brain takes deadlines very seriously so deadlines make us more productive. Just give yourself a deadline, so that you can take your productivity to the next level.

Final Words

You can certainly get rid of or avoid procrastination if you want to. All you need is a positive mindset and follow these 3 simple tips. First, identify the reason behind your procrastination. Then make a habit, set goals, and give yourself a deadline.

These simple tips work for everyone, if you are a student then this write-up will help to understand procrastination meaning and will help you to avoid procrastination. If you are an office guy and want to know how to avoid procrastination at work? This write-up will work for you too.

Another thing that you need to clear in your mind is when you are procrastinating or enjoying your life because the balance between work life and enjoyment is very important for everyone. Now you are well aware of procrastination meaning and how to avoid procrastination.

If you are reading till here then tell me your story of procrastinating in the comment box. I would love to hear from you.

Reference: BigBrainCo